Pyramid illusion in a box

At last the pyramid illusion is finished. I am happy how it turned out to be including the finish.

The lid…1/4 inch thick parquet of different kind of wood cut into rhumboid pieces and gliued together. A 45 degree cut of a rectangular block will create a 60 degree angle x 120 degrees. I make use of this so that I can produce pyramid. The blog will explain on how this was done. The wood used are:

Black – dungon—a local blackwood and very stable, hard and not pliableWhite – hard pine… from pallet (you can see some of the pieces that has nail hole stain.Orange – The diamond shape is probably red pine (I get the wood from a shipyard and it smell kerozene. I have to wash it several time to get the real strength and color)Red – Red Narra.The moulding is Red Narra.

What a different outcome on this lid is the flipside… here is the pattern..

The knob…I glued 4 pieces of rhumboids and cut the pointed part. I screwed it own on the center of the lid. I was amazed how abstract will attract the attention… Some say its a flower, a buried arrow point, or even two leaves. But its good special the different color of the rhumboid gives a greater impression.

The sides…The sides is paterned after a snake or crocodile belt. The wood as follows:The outer most part … Mango.. spalted and turned out to be green.The next in line diamonds…. IPIL … brownish in color.The center ribon is composed of 3 colors: Red – Red narra, White – yellow narra, and black—dungon a local blackwood.The lower diamond …. Golden brown .. a very hardwood called BALAYONG… The lowest half diamond …. Same as the top… MANGO..

The molding on top is rabbeted allowing the lid to inset. This is made from Red Narra.The bottom flooring or cover extend outside and served as the molding. I followed the style of David (Patron) in jointing…. rabetting or making a shoulder on the bottom cover to have more glue spaces.

THE FINISHI own the style of finish from Martyn (Britboxmaker).. I use 3 coats of sanding sealer (sprayed on) then 4 coats of WATER WHITE GLOSS LACQUER…. using this finish is tiresome specially in a humid condition. It becomes white cloudy …. There is a secret…. I added lacquer flo… Slow drying but it prevents the cloudiness during the spraying..

JUST DONT LET ME COUNT HOW MANY PIECES ARE THERE IN THIS BOX… What I know is the size: 3-1/2×6-1/2×11 inches or 16×29 x 9 cm..

Hi Larry,I hope the weather out there getting better now… I agree that there are so much to learn. Practice really makes perfect… but I have limited time.. Maybe this is the effect of gluing in the early morning (in rush ro office work) and late evening (tired from driving 1 1/2 hours due to traffic). I have work during weekdays. It is really nice to work when you have the momentum in doing it. You can still adjust when the glue is still half dry.. The hard part really is you cannot clamp the rhumboid joint. I am still thinking of jigs for it. Thanks for your comment “close to perfection” ... as for me it is very far from perfection … I will make next one with more precision…

Thanks Jamie…. additionally thanks for your effort to make Rand happy. Both of you inspired me a lot to do such things.. The best challenge I always thought… IF OTHERS CAN, WHY NOT ME..God bless

For all you know, The LJ masters (everybody knows who I am talking about) are the people that inspire me to conceptualize something by using my love of geometry and mathematics. Actually, it just comes out from nowhere using sketchup. The good thing is when I design, I also challenge myself how to do it. If it will not be realistic, I just erase the design…

Nice Bert. Man, the finish really brings out the color in all the different woods. I have to agree with Martyn after seeing what you were about to delete. It is amazing to see all the wonderful designs that come out on LJ.It reminds me of the old Kaleidoscopes from when we were kids.I’m wondering when you are going to get the wood so thin it becomes veneer. lol I waiting for the veneer dovetail. lolKeep them coming, Bert. It is always good to see what a good friend is up to. Give our love to Agnes and all the family. Rand